


Breaking Free

by M1dn1ght_Star



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A bit of Ron and Hermione bashing, Auror Harry Potter, Aurors, Dumbledore Bashing, Everyone expects so much from Harry, Famous Harry, Ginny Weasley Bashing, Harry Snaps, M/M, Molly Weasley Bashing, Post-Canon, Powerful Harry, Reporter bashing, Rita Skeeter bashing, Stressed Harry Potter, Umbridge Bashing, accidental magic, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-10-12 09:26:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17464868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M1dn1ght_Star/pseuds/M1dn1ght_Star
Summary: After the war, Harry becomes an Auror because everyone expects him to, but he's miserable. When he finally snaps, the world is shocked...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gwynie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwynie/gifts), [Carols_Sister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carols_Sister/gifts).



> Disclaimer: All rights go to J. K. Rowling. This is NOT for money, just for fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Gwynie: I gifted this work to you because of what an awesome and supportive reader you've been :)

Harry looked up briefly from the piles of paperwork on his desk and spotted Ginny making her way towards him. He sighed, rubbing his temples. He could feel a headache coming on. He was already exhausted after a full day of patrol and reports, the last thing he needed was the Weaselette bouncing hyperly in and completely ignoring his pleas for her to leave him alone.

The annoying ginger stopped in front of his desk. “Hey, Harry.” She fluttered her eyelashes sickeningly.

“Ginny.” He responded curtly, trying to be polite.

She seemed taken aback for a second before narrowing her eyes. “Harry, I know you’ve needed some time after the war to pull yourself together, but it's safe for us to be together now. Mum was thinking about a spring wedding.” She giggled annoyingly.

“I don’t want to be with you, Ginny. I’ve already told you.”

“Don’t be silly, Harry. I’m your girlfriend.” Ginny said, ignoring him.

“No you aren’t.”

“Come on, Mum’s waiting at home for us. She baked a cake to celebrate our engagement!” Ginny tried to tug him from his desk.

That’s it. Harry thought. I’m done. I can’t take any more. “Ginerva, I do not want to be your boyfriend. I am not your boyfriend. I never want to be your boyfriend. I also do not want to get married or see you ever again! Why can’t you just take a hint! I’m sick of you and the rest of my friends making decisions for me and never listening to me! I am my own person! Leave me the hell alone!” He was shouting by the end of this.

Ginny backed away, wide eyed, as his magic started lashing out, destroying the office around him. He yelled at her for another minute inside of the tornado of sorts before the wind stopped and everything fell to the ground. But when Ginny looked up, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Harry had disappeared, leaving nothing of his stuff behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry hit the ground with the thump, clothes not cushioning him as his Auror robes should’ve. He wasn’t wearing his Auror robes anymore, he realized, bemused.

Sitting up, Harry looked over himself and noticed that he was somehow now wearing a pair of Hogwarts robes, but without his house on them. He looked up and saw he was next to the greenhouses. They were bigger than he remembered. Wait, or was it him that was smaller? 

Scrambling up, he dusted himself off, noting that his hands were much smaller than he was used to. He felt panic cloud his mind for a moment before realizing that he could go to McGonagall for help. 

He hurried through the school, almost running, noting that the halls were full of students looking at him curiously. Did they recognize him or were they just confused about what he was doing in their school?

He made it to the staircase up to McGonagall’s office before realizing he didn’t know the password. He sighed in defeat, wishing that he could get into the office. To his shock, the stone underneath his hand started moving, and for a moment he thought he’d done it, before the wall opened completely and McGonagall herself was standing in front of him. She blinked in shock to find someone so close to her face.

“Can I help you, Mr…?” She asked, seemingly not recognising him.

“McGonagall, I have a problem. It’s me, Harry Potter. I somehow ended up here like this.” Harry mumbled his way through a basic explanation.

McGonagall sighed and led him into her office. “Can you please tell me how you ended up like this?”

“Well… I was at the Auror office and Ginny was acting like we were in a relationship again and I just kinda lost it… Then a tornado came out of nowhere and everything started spinning before there was a sort of flash and I fell onto the ground next to the greenhouses. Do you think I accidentally Apparated?”

“No, Mr. Potter. It is a lot more complicated than that.” McGonagall sighed again, summoning a house elf and requesting a cup of tea.

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, McGonagall Conjured a mirror and handed it to him. When Harry looked at it, he gasped. He looked like a completely different person. He had shoulder length inky hair and gold-ringed emerald eyes and no scar in sight.

“I think your magic… decided to give you the chance to… start over in a way. You can be a student again without all the constant pressure and then you can make real friends and enjoy being a child.” McGonagall gave him a small smile, understanding all he had gone through.

“You mean.. I can stay like this? If I want to, I mean?”

“Of course, Mr. Potter. Though you might want to choose a new name.” McGonagall nodded.

Harry thought for a moment. “My new name… I want to be Arion Caspian Davenwell.” He pulled from the Black tradition of naming children after constellations but with a slight letter change and fielded the rest.

“Good choice. I will introduce you to the students as a student who had to start mid-way through the year because of personal reasons and then we can sort you at dinner in an hour.” McGonagall finished her tea and put the cup down on her desk. “You can stay here until then if you would like.”

“Thank you.” Harry replied gratefully, feeling glad that there was at least one person he could trust to have his best interests at heart.

-

Harry walked into the Great Hall, wary of the hundreds of eyes on him. McGonagall winked at him as he sat on the stool and once again had the Sorting Hat put on his head.

“Are you ready to go where you belong this time?” It asked wryly, laughing at Harry’s sputtering response, then acquiescence.

“Slytherin!” It cried aloud and then Harry was walking over to the Slytherin table, to enthusiastic applause from his new house and a few scattered claps from the other houses. It seemed the bias against Slytherins had only increased after the war. Harry was determined to change that. He was so lost in thought he didn’t realize he’d arrived at the Slytherin table until a voice said, “Hey, welcome to Slytherin. I’m Aslan Rosier. And you are?”

“Arion Caspian Davenwell, a pleasure to meet you, Aslan.” Harry replied politely, keeping his face neutral. He’d picked up Slytherin politics pretty quickly during his first sequence of Hogwarts learning.

Aslan moved over silently and Arion sat down, smiling at his new acquaintance. Aslan waited a moment, then burst out laughing. “We’re not all formal, you know, just when we have to be.” He said, a friendly grin on his face now. 

“Glad to know.” Arion smiled back, then said, “So, how much are you going to try and kill me if I call you Rosie?” 

Aslan started laughing again. “I feel like I’ve just found my lost twin brother! But, to answer your question… only once or twice. I’ve also spontaneously decided that I’m going to call you Caspia if you do. Otherwise, your new name is Rion or Ari.”

The newly christened Rion shook his head dryly. “Good to know, Lan.”

They finished dinner and then Aslan led Arion back to the Slytherin dormitories, where they found a new bed had appeared in Aslan’s dorm, making them roommates.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed since Harry had donned the alias of Arion, and he was having a blast. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed out on his first time through Hogwarts until he was going swimming in the lake with his new friends and having nothing to worry about other than a few over-aggressive Gryffindors and his grades.

He was sitting on his bed in the Slytherin dorms contemplating this when he was interrupted by Aslan. 

“Hey, Rion, what are you thinking so hard about? You look awfully deep in thought for someone reading a textbook.” Lan poked him with a foot from his bed where he was lounging and working on his homework.

“Just contemplating ways to exorcise Binns.” Rian said dryly, smirking at his friend.

“Ooh, got anything yet?” Moren, another of his roommates, asked, poking his head out of the bathroom where he was fussing with his already pristine hair.

“Nah, I wonder if I could get the Headmistress to help me though. He’s probably been around since  _ she  _ was a student.” Rion shot back. 

They continued bickering for a while before heading down to breakfast. Harry still had to mentally remind himself not to sit at the Gryffindor table, but he was working on undoing his habits from his time as a member of the Lion house. 

He was in the middle of eating some scrambled eggs and toast when the owls swooped in with the mail. He looked for Hedwig for a moment before cursing his stupid brain and forcefully holding back tears at the thought of his owl, who had died during the war.

His previous angst was forgotten, however, when he read the headline over Aslan’s shoulder and immediately started choking.  **Boy-Who-Lived Missing! Could He Be The Boy-Who-Died?** Was on the front page in large bold font.

Moren thumped him on the back until he stopped coughing. “Okay, mate?” He asked.

Harry swallowed the words that wanted to come out of his mouth, and after a moment of thought, settled for, “Yeah, just was a bit shocked at the headline.” He nodded at the paper that Aslan was frantically reading.

After a moment, the Rosier dropped the paper in disgust. “There’s nothing remotely useful in there. Just Skeeter trying to make sensational news again. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry Potter wasn’t even missing.”

“Is it the only article about it?” Rion asked, donning his neutral pureblood face.

“Yeah.” Aslan seemed to have dismissed the article already, a blatant difference from the rest of the Great Hall, which seemed to be in various states of shock and confusion except for McGonagall, who winked at him.

Moren took a piece of toast from the stack in the middle of table and being generously applying butter. “We’ll see what they say tomorrow.”

Rion took the paper and casually skimmed over the article, noting how it was unusually accurate for the woman. He realized why when he saw the words interview with fiance near the middle. He took a moment to wrestle his temper down before taking a deep breath, trying not to show his anger to the rest of the students. How dare that wench use his disappearance as a chance to make herself Lady Potter. Ginny Weasley would rue the day she decided to mess with him.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a little disappointed in my writing this chapter, it doesn't feel up to standard. Does it flow with the rest of the story or do I need to rewrite it? Let me know :)

Arion was enjoying a low-stress weekend afternoon out on the lawn in front of the lake, writing in a notebook about random ideas and plans he’d had. Skeeter had published another article yesterday about the missing ‘Savior’ and he’d gleaned from it that the Aurors and Unspeakables hadn’t been able to find anything out about what had happened so far. Unfortunately, the article also meant that people started taking the first article seriously and that someone might connect the dots about a mysterious student appearing the same day Harry Potter disappeared. He was so lost in thought he didn’t even notice that someone was walking towards him until they tripped over his leg hidden in the long grass and fell on him. 

Scrambling up, Rion looked down to see a Ravenclaw boy about his age laying in the grass, a sheepish smile on his face. He had long hair that was an intriguing mix of brown and golden red. 

“Are you alright?” Rion asked, extending a hand to help him up.

“Yes, sorry for falling on you. I didn’t see you until I tripped over your leg. My apologies. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” The boy replied, politely but earnestly.

“It’s fine. I am unhurt. Are you injured?” Rion replied, realizing the boy was a Pureblood by his mannerisms. Most Pureblood heirs went to Slytherin, but a few ended up in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. 

“No, I’m not hurt either.” 

“Arion Davenwell.” Rion introduced, smiling.

“Ethan Mercier, heir of Lord Mercier.” He was right then, the Ravenclaw was a heir.

“...” Arion realized he’d missed what Ethan had said, and flushed in embarassment. 

“Sorry, could you repeat that?”

“I said, I’d like to make it up to you somehow. For falling on you.” 

“No… that’s alright.” Ethan looked amused for some reason, but accepted Rion’s dismissal and sat down next to him. “Can I ask what you’re writing, or is it classified?” He asked in a half-joking, half-serious voice.

“It is classfied, actually, but you can see some of the drawings I did in the back.” Arion opened his notebook to the last few pages and showed them shyly to the other boy, unused to sharing them with anyone.

“Wow! These are really good!” Ethan exclaimed, looking over a sketch of a thestral Rion had done. “What is it?”

“A thestral. Only those who have witnessed death can see them.” Rion gave a sad smile, thinking back to all the deaths he’d seen.

“Was it your parents you saw die?” Ethan blurted out, before he realized what he said, and hastily tried to retract his words. “My apologies, I’m so sor-”

“Yes, it was. That’s why I started in the middle of the year.” Rion smiled at the boy so he’d know he was forgiven. 

“I must be going, but it was nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well.” Arion responded, before watching as Ethan headed back up to the castle. He’d almost slipped up and said something out of character for the person he supposedly was several times. Being a pureblood was exhausting. 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! My works have a total of over 32k hits! I'm so happy and thankful to all of you guys for supporting me and giving me ideas.

Rion supposed that he’d procrastinated long enough, and he went up one weekend to McGonagall’s office with notebook in hand to ask for permission to leave Hogwarts for a few hours. The Headmistress was in her office working on a tall pile of paperwork and looked up as he came in, having passed Flitwick on his way out.

“How did you get through the staircase?” She asked, surprised.

“Professor Flitwick was leaving and I slipped through.” He replied sheepishly.

Shaking her head, McGonagall put down her quill and said, “What can I do for you then?”

“I’d like permission to leave school today for a few hours to visit Gringotts.” he explained.

“Of course, you must be back by dinner, however.” McGonagall got up and moved to the Floo, opening it up. 

“Thank you.” Arion took a pinch of Floo powder from the bowl she offered him, and sighed in resignation at the disaster his trip was going to be, before throwing down the powder and crying, “Gringotts!”

He was yanked through the wildly moving tunnel and spat out, tripping over himself, in the Entrance Hall of Gringotts. A couple of people nearby turned to see the commotion and directed haughty and speculative looks at the eleven year old boy sprawled ungracefully on the floor in Hogwarts robes.

Arion resisted the urge to facepalm and instead stood up and adjusted his robes casually, before walking up to an open teller station.

“I’d like to see the Potter and Black account managers.” He said, covertly holding out a finger for the goblin to jab with a needle and verify he was who he said he was.

“Lord Potter-Black, if you’ll come with me.” The goblin said in a low voice, nodding sharply at another goblin as they walked deeper into the bank. Rion followed him to the same office he had visited many times before the few years and took a seat.

Rarnock, the account manager was sitting across from him behind his desk, looking critically at him.

“What are you planning?” He asked, knowing that the human across from him had plans.

“Well, I’d like you to transfer all my vaults under the name of Arion Caspian Davenwell by inheritance clause and refuse to tell them who the ‘new’ Lord is because of client classification. It will give them the idea that I’ve died somehow.“

Rarnock grinned a bloodthirsty smile. “I can make that happen. I presume I’ll remain manager?”

Rion nodded. “That’s all for now. I must go and put the next part of my plan into motion.”

They exchanged farewells and Arion hurried out of the building, digging his wand out of his pocket and glamouring himself with parselmagic to look generic and older. By using parseltongue, none of the spells and wards would work to dissolve them unless done in the snake language as well.

He strode up to the entrance of the Daily Prophet and smiled blandly at the receptionist. “I’d like to talk to Ms. Skeeter, please.” The woman looked him over as if gauging his truthfulness before pressing a button. “Go on back, she’s available and waiting in her office.”

Rion ambled his way down the hallway to the annoying reporters office and went in without knocking. Rita Skeeter sat on a couch, watching him with calculating eyes.

“And you are?” she asked.

“Anonymous, if you please.” He returned. Her look sharpened, as if he’d caught her interest and was now listening avidly.

“Yes?”

“I’d like to give you some interesting information I’ve come upon about a Miss Ginevra Weasley.”

“Do go on…”

“I’ve talked to several of Mr. Potter’s friends and found that she is not his fiance. She isn’t even his girlfriend!”

“So she could have been making things up for attention…” Skeeter mused, immediately catching what he was subtly trying to hint at. “What a lovely article this will make. I’ll have to verify your information, of course, but you understand.”

Arion nodded and left, leaving the reporter to create an article that would tear the Weaselette down.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I finally wrote the next chapter of Breaking Free after working through a bit of writer's block. Hope you enjoy! :D 
> 
> Don't forget to comment and tell me what you liked and any questions you have...

 

**Ginny Weasley Lies? The False Fiance of The Boy Who Lived!**

By Rita Skeeter

After being given an anonymous tip over the weekend, I did a bit of research, and to my surprise I found that the ‘fiance’ of Harry Potter that told me about his disappearance is not in fact his fiance. The girl isn’t even his girlfriend! What a lie she’s been telling us all… I interviewed Miss Weasley’s mother and was shocked to find that she also insisted The Boy-Who-Lived was going to become her in-law very soon, as if Harry Potter was not missing at all! My original theory that Ginny Weasley was doing this for attention was seeming unlikely at that point, and I now thought perhaps the girl was being pushed into it by her mother.

This reporter decided it was time to get an outside point of view and tracked down a few of the Savior’s schoolmates, only to find out that they hadn’t been able to get in touch with him since the war. One of them, Neville Longbottom, told me that, “I’ve been trying to send Harry letters and meet up with him at the Auror’s offices, but every time I did, Ginny or Ron appeared and either blocked me or distracted me until he was gone, and I never got a reply to any of my letters.” Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Cho Chang also reported that they hadn’t been able to get in contact with him.

So now my question is, could Ginny Weasley be being brainwashed into this? Is the disappearance of Harry Potter part of something bigger? This reporter will be looking into it!

-

Skeeter had done even better than he’d hoped, Arion mused, thoughtfully looking over the newspaper article he’d nudged her to write. He was pulled from his thoughts by Ethan sitting down next to him at the Slytherin table, completely ignoring the looks he got. 

“Hey, Arion! Draw anything new recently?” He asked cheerfully, stealing a pastry from the pile in front of Aslan, who pulled the remaining ones closer protectively and continued eating.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if they’re any good or not.” Arion opened his notebook, purposefully skipping his drawings of nightmares or things that would automatically out him as Harry Potter. He stopped on a drawing of Hedwig, one that he’d drawn from memory. He smoothed his fingers over the sketch, and suddenly found himself fighting back tears. He missed her, she’d been a friend to him, and his first birthday present.

“Are you okay?” Lan peered at him, breakfast abandoned, with a worried look on his face. Ethan and Moren were also watching him with concern.

“Yeah, just... “ How could he explain this? “This was my owl, given to me by my parents. She was killed in the same fire that killed my parents.” He said quietly, editing the truth a little.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you.” Ethan apologized, seeming to blame himself.

“It’s okay, I have one I want to show you.” Arion tugged Ethan back down from where he was getting up from the table. He turned the page to a sketch he’d made after meeting the Ravenclaw the first time. A delicate flower seemed to bloom from the paper, made so realistic that it looked as if it could be touched and that silky petals would be felt. To him it was his growing happiness at being able to be himself and grow up again.

Ethan looked at it in amazement. “That’s stunning. You draw like a professional.”

Arion felt himself blushing. “Thanks.”

“Let me see!” Lan made grabby hands towards his notebook.

Rolling his eyes, Rion picked up his notebook and showed him the drawing.

“Ooh, that is good.” Moren commented, looking over Aslan’s shoulder.

“Yeah…” Arion thought for a moment. “Breakfast’s almost over by now, isn’t it? We should head to class.”

“You’re right, we’re going to be late!” Ethan jumped up, almost knocking a plate off the table in his haste. “Bye, Arion, it was nice talking to you.” He headed off to class, with the other boys finishing up quickly before making their way to their classes.

 


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to anyone hoping for a longer fic, but I've lost my inspiration and my brain decided that it was time for an epilogue/ending chapter.
> 
> Sorry! And I hope you enjoy...

**One year later…**

Arion and Ethan were sitting together out by the lake where they’d first met, leaning against one another in silence. Rion had decided he was finally going to tell him who he really was after getting to know him better and coming to trust him with his life, literally. He just wasn’t sure how to tell him.

Rion was pulled from his thoughts by Ethan poking his nose. “Rion, you’re thinking so hard its hurting  _ me _ !” He joked playfully.

Arion rolled his eyes at his friend. “I… have something to tell you.”

Ethan settled down, sensing his solemn tone. 

“You know how Harry Potter went missing and was assumed dead after never being found? I’m… Harry Potter, but I’m also Arion. I never had the chance to be a child before and my magic decided to give me one. I’m physically and emotionally the same age as you, I just have memories 20 years longer than yours.”

Ethan looked at him for a moment. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this. If you were worried that I would hate you or reject you, there is no chance that is going to happen. You’re still Arion to me.”

“I also want to tell Aslan and Moren, but I…” Arion started, then stopped, unable to put into words what he wanted to say.

“I’ll help you, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, you’re the best.” Rion hugged his friend, trying to show him how he felt instead of fumbling for words.

“Come on, let’s go find them!” Ethan said, tugging him up. “I bet they’re skulking round the library again, trying to find that one girl they like.”

Arion let himself be led, shaking his head at the tragedy that was teen boys. He was just glad he had already gone through it once, so he knew what to expect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new story I'm going to be starting is linked below. It's called Magically Twins: A Vampire Tale
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/18002018/chapters/42529514


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